Start of sagematt buffer: Sun Dec 06 20:06:12 2009
Session Ident: sagematt (~john@ha.r.bl)
[19:35] I was bugging ViruX, he told me he was very busy BUT that he
would eventually help me.
[19:36] Since "eventually" is not your favorite measure your time, that
idea you are proposing doesn't sound too bad.
[19:36] That didn't work out so well last time.
[19:36] *measure of time
[19:36] Aroduc> That didn't work out so well last time. I just was under the impression that you had just prodded at them,
saw that they outputted -something- and then didn't know what to do from there
[19:39] you can grab the needed stuff from svn://celazul.stanford.edu/game
hack/seqwrap and svn://celazul.stanford.edu/gamehack/alicesoft (aintool.py is the
main script)
[19:40] I hope that your guy works on GNAA/Lunix. It would make things a
lot easier for him.
[19:41] System4.0 is a VM. It interpretes instructions... "opcodes"
followed by its arguments.
[19:41] The opcodes in 4.0 differ from those in 4.2
[19:41] 4.
[19:42] 4.2 took out some stuff, and added like two extra opcodes.
[19:43] I'm still typing.
[19:43] I figured
[19:43] Just in case.
[19:46] Anyways, the script files are composed of chunks. Each chunk
groups (in the case of Sengoku Rance, in this order) version, value, size of code,
number of funcitons, number of globals, number of globally set values, number of
structures, number of messages (which are to be translated), its main function...
blah blah blah lots of shit that he'll understand if he checks the file.
[19:46] *files
[19:46] **code
[19:48] Most of these stuff is encrypted in the AIN files, using some
kind of pseudo random number generator that works with a seed (key).
[19:49] This key is the same for both BBA and SR, so this tool should, in
essence, decrypt the files with no extra work.
[19:51] It just so happens that, when instructed to extract everything,
the tool tries to use the info gotten from the (misplaced in System4.0 case) chunk
format to figure out how many functions there are.
[19:51] Since it can't figure out that, it craps out.
[19:52] However, the tool can be instructed to extract a single arbitrary
element from the AIN file by specifying which "file number" you want.
[19:57] But that still exports as that garbage you showed me, yes?
[19:57] So, after giving this very short look at how this operates, I
think that what needs to be worked on is: 1. Figure out the actual chunk format
used in this version. Chunks are actually identified by a name, which is why the
tool knows how to decrypt the BBA files, yet something differs that makes it spit
out the wrong quantity of stuff in the archive
[19:58] 2. Figure out the extra opcodes.
[19:59] 3. If 1. are 2. are done, then one might be able to modify the
tool so that it spits out everything with its "extract" command. Additional work
might be required to reinsert everything.
[19:59] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's my gist after my quick look at
the files.
[19:59] *code
[20:00] With enough time and dedication, I could deliver all that.
[20:00] ...But of course, there's my "Schneizel effort"
[20:00] And I have a full time job.
[20:01] Uh huh
[20:01] It's true, dawg.
[20:02] If we had met back when I was in college, and you had given me
any of these projects to work on, I would have delivered.
[20:02] But this is not the case anymore.
[20:05] ...And of course, I find three hours of L4D a week far more
entertaining than three hours a week of this.
[20:06] Heck, I'm two or three episodes behind in all the shows I was
watching.
End of sagematt buffer Sun Dec 06 20:06:12 2009